First, make sure that your tablet works well under Arch. Then, download and install the last driver from [http://www.wacom.com/downloads/drivers.php Wacom website] on the guest OS. Shutdown the virtual machine, go to '''Settings > USB'''. Select '''Add Filter From Device''' and select your tablet (e.g. WACOM CTE-440-U V4.0-3 [0403]). Select '''Edit Filter''', and change the last item '''Remote''' to '''Any'''.

First, make sure that your tablet works well under Arch. Then, download and install the last driver from [http://www.wacom.com/downloads/drivers.php Wacom website] on the guest OS. Shutdown the virtual machine, go to '''Settings > USB'''. Select '''Add Filter From Device''' and select your tablet (e.g. WACOM CTE-440-U V4.0-3 [0403]). Select '''Edit Filter''', and change the last item '''Remote''' to '''Any'''.

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=== Web Browser Plugin ===

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A plugin that imitates the official Wacom web plugin can be found on the AUR as [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/wacomwebplugin/ wacomwebplugin]. It has been tested successfully using Chromium and Firefox.

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With this plugin it is possible to make use of online tools such as [http://sta.sh/muro/ deviantART's Muro]. This plugin is in early stages so as always, your mileage may vary.

Introduction

Before we begin, I would like to point out that this guide was started for USB based Wacom tablets, so much of the info in here focuses on that. Usually it's recommended to rely on Xorg's auto-detection or to use a dynamic setup.
However for an internal tablet device one might consider a static Xorg setup in case autodetection does not work.
A static Xorg setup is usually not able to recognize your Wacom tablet when it's connected to a different USB port or even after unplugging and replugging it into the same port, and as such it should be considered as deprecated.

It is also worth to mention that this wiki article is very much influenced by the very helpful Gentoo Linux Wiki - HOWTO Wacom Tablet, which I recommend anyone visit if they would like to learn about things that are not covered here.

Installing

Check if kernel drivers needed (usually not)

After plugging in the tablet (in case of a USB device) check lsusb and/or dmesg to see if the kernel recognizes your tablet. It should also be listed in /proc/bus/input/devices.

Install Wacom drivers

Note: There is also xf86-input-wacom-gitAUR in AUR which provides git version of xf86-input-wacom, but you might encounter some troubles. For me the buttons for example did only work with the stable release, not with the git version. So it's recommended to try xf86-input-wacom irst.

Automatical setup

Newer versions of X should be able to automatically detect and configure your device. Before going any further, restart X so the new udev rules take effect. Test if your device was recognized completely (i.e., that both pen and eraser work, if applicable), by issuing command

You can also test it by opening Gimp or Xournal and checking the extended input devices section, or whatever tablet-related configuration is supported by the software of your choice.

For this to work you don't need any xorg.conf file, any configurations are made in files in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ folder.
If everything is working you can skip the manual configuration and proceed to the configuration section to learn how to further customize your tablet.

With the arrival of Xorg 1.8 support for HAL was dropped in favor of udev which might break auto-detection for some tablets as fitting udev rules might not exist yet, so you may need to write your own.

If you have linuxwacom or linuxwacom-dev remove those packages first. They are known to cause problems with newer version of X. xf86-input-wacom is the only package you need to install the X11 drivers.

Manual setup

A manual configuration is done in /etc/X11/xorg.conf or in a separate file in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory.
The Wacom tablet device is accessed using a input event interface in /dev/input/ which is provided by the kernel driver.
The interface number event?? is likely to change when unplugging and replugging into the same or especially a different USB port.
Therefore it's wise to don't refer to the device using it's concrete event?? interface (static configuration) but by letting udev dynamically create a symbolic link to the correct event file (dynamic configuration).

Dynamic with udev

Note: In AUR there is wacom-udev package, which includes udev-rules-file. You might skip this part and move on to the xorg.conf configuration if you are using the wacom-udev package from AUR.

Assuming udev is already installed you simply need to install wacom-udevAUR from AUR, e.g. by using

$ yaourt -S wacom-udev

USB-devices

After (re-)plugging in your USB-tablet (or at least after rebooting) some symbolic links should appear in /dev/input refering to your tablet device.

If not, your device is likely to be not yet included in the udev configuration from wacom-udev which resides in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/10-wacom.rules. It's a good idea to copy the file e.g. to 10-my-wacom.rules before modifiing it, else it might be reverted by a package upgrade.

Add your device to the file by duplicating some line of another device and adapting idVendor,idProduct and the symlink name to your device.
The two id's can by determined using

In this example idVendor is 056a and idProduct 0062.
In case you have device with touch (e.g. Bamboo Pen&Touch) you might need to add a second line for the touch input interface.
For details check the linuxwacom wiki Fixed device files with udev.

Save the file and reload udev's configuration profile using the command udevadm control --reload-rules
Check again the content of /dev/input to make sure that the wacom symlinks appeared.
Note that you may need to plug-in the tablet again for the device to appear.

The files of further interest for the Xorg configuration are /dev/input/wacom and for a touch-device also /dev/input/wacom_touch.

Serial devices

The wacom-udevAUR should also include support for serial devices. Users of serial tablets might be also interested in the inputattach tool from linuxconsoleAUR package. The inputattach command allows to bind serial device into /dev/input tree, for example with:

# inputattach --w8001 /dev/ttyS0

See man inputattach for help about available options.
As for USB devices one should end up with a file /dev/input/wacom and proceed with the Xorg configuration.

Static setup

If you insist in using a static setup just refer to your tablet in the Xorg configuration in the next section using the correct /dev/input/event?? files as one can find out by looking into /proc/bus/input/devices.

Xorg configuration

In either case, dynamic or static setup you got now one or two files in /dev/input/ which refer to the correct input event devices of your tablet. All that is left to do is add the relevent information to /etc/X11/xorg.conf, or a dedicated file under /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/.
The exact configuration depends on your tablet's features of course. xsetwacom --list devices might give helpful informations on what InputDevice sections are needed for your tablet.

And finally make sure to update the indentifier of your mouse in the ServerLayout section – as mine went from

InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"

to

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"

Configuration

General concepts

The configuration can be done in two ways temporary using the `xsetwacom` tool, which is included in xf86-input-wacom or permanent in xorg.conf or better in a extra file in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d.
The possible options are identical so it's recommended to first use `xsetwacom` for testing and later add the final config to the Xorg configuration files.

Temporary configuration

For the beginning it's a good idea to inspect the default configuration and all possible options using the following commands.

The identifiers can be set arbitrarily. The option names are (except for the buttons) identical to the ones listed by xsetwacom --list parameters and especially also in man wacom. As noted in #Remapping Buttons the button ids seem to be different than the ones for xsetwacom.

Specific configuration tips

Changing orientation

If you want to use your tablet in a different orientation you have to tell this to the driver, else the movements don't cause the expected results.
This is done by setting the Rotate option for all devices. Possible orientations are none,cw,ccw and half.
A quick way is e.g.

Remapping Buttons

It's possible to remap the buttons with hotkeys.

Finding out the button IDs

Sometimes it needs some trial&error to find the correct button IDs. For me they even differ for xsetwacom and the xorg.conf configuration. Very helpful tools are xev or xbindkeys -mk. An easy way to proceed is the following

Note: There seems to be a bug in the xf86-input-wacom driver version 0.17.0, at least for my Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch, but I guess this holds in general. It causes the keystrokes not to be overwritten correctly.

Execute custom commands

Mapping custom commands to the buttons is a little bit tricky but actually very simple. You'll need xbindkeys so install it using

# pacman -S xbindkeys

To get well defined button codes add the following to your permanent configuration file, e.g. /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/52-wacom-options.conf
in the InputClass section of your pad device. Map the tablet's buttons to some unused button ids.

Application-specific configuration

The GIMP

To enabled proper usage, and pressure sensitive painting in The GIMP, just go to Preferences → Input Devices → Configure Extended Input Devices.... Now for each of your eraser, stylus, and cursordevices, set the mode to Screen, and remember to save.

Please take note that if present, the paddevice should be kept disabled as I do not think The GIMP supports such things. Alternatively, to use such features of your tablet you should map them to keyboard commands with a program such as Wacom ExpressKeys.

You should also take note that the tool selected for the stylus is independent to that of the eraser. This can actually be quite handy, as you can have the eraser set to be used as any tool you like.

Inkscape

As in The GIMP, to do the same simply got to File → Input Devices.... Now for each of your eraser, stylus, and cursordevices, set the mode to Screen, and remember to save.

Krita

Krita 2.0 and later only require that QT is able to use your tablet to function properly. If your tablet is not working in Krita, then make sure to check it is working in QT first. The effect of tablet pressure can then be tweaked in the painttop configuration, for example by selecting opacity, then selecting pressure from the drop down and adjusting the curve to your preference.

For earlier versions of Krita, simply go to Settings → Configure Krita... Click on Tablet and then like in Inkscape and GIMP set stylus and any others' mode to screen.

VirtualBox

First, make sure that your tablet works well under Arch. Then, download and install the last driver from Wacom website on the guest OS. Shutdown the virtual machine, go to Settings > USB. Select Add Filter From Device and select your tablet (e.g. WACOM CTE-440-U V4.0-3 [0403]). Select Edit Filter, and change the last item Remote to Any.

Web Browser Plugin

A plugin that imitates the official Wacom web plugin can be found on the AUR as wacomwebplugin. It has been tested successfully using Chromium and Firefox.

With this plugin it is possible to make use of online tools such as deviantART's Muro. This plugin is in early stages so as always, your mileage may vary.

Newer tablets & Troubleshooting

Newer tablets's drivers might not be in the kernel yet, and additional manipulations might be needed.
For example, for the Wacom Bamboo Connect CTL-470/k and Pen & Touch CTH670, follow the instructions in this thread.
There seems to be a problem with the CTH670 that is fixed in the attachment found in this post
To compile it use the same instructions as in this thread

Dynamic Xorg setup with HAL (deprecated)

This article or section is out of date.

Reason: HAL support was dropped in Xorg 1.8 which entered the repos in June 2010, it should not be used anymore (Discuss in Talk:Wacom tablet#)

Note: In Xorg 1.8 and later, support for HAL is dropped. Input hotplugging will NOT work with these versions of X, you need to use udev (see above) instead.

Note: The linuxwacom package from AUR already includes a fitting fdi file, so you might skip this part and just try out if it works after installing linuxwacom and restarting X.

To use a Wacom/WALTOP/N-Trig tablet with HAL Xorg hotplugging create /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-tablet.fdi with this code:

Following fdi file is known to work with the Bamboo Fun tablet (model CTE-650). Using this file corrects several problems with the stylus that appear when using the default fdi file above. Create the file /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-tablet.fdi with the following contents:

HAL tablet calibration fix

In order for calibration to work even when the screen is rotated (this applies for both serial and USB tablets), the wacom-names script is useful. It renames your X input devices so that they can be recognized by the linuxwacom driver. Download it from here. You need to be a Ubuntu forums member to download it. If you are not, here is the script. Remember, it was originally intended for Ubuntu so the instructions do not all apply to us Archers: